Heard on the Street: Bafna jumps 7% on MNC stake buy talk

Shares of Chennai-based Bafna Pharmaceuticals rose 6.8% to `51.75 on Thursday on speculation a multinational drug firm may acquire one of its brands. The buzz is that the company is in advanced stage of negotiation in this deal. The size of this deal could not be ascertained. A top official in Bafna declined comment. The company recently received some approvals from African markets to launch lifestyle drugs.

FIs load up on steel stocks on price hike hopes

Institutional investors have been accumulating shares of steel companies amid talks that there could be a 5% increase in prices over the next few months. The price hike is expected to be effected in two phases — the first one in early January and the second in March. Re-stocking by large-sized dealers and rising demand from manufacturing companies, especially for automobile manufacturers and auto ancillary companies, could result in steel prices going up, said a Mumbai-based broker.